ARSENAL and Manchester City will face off in the League Cup final next month… pitting apprentice Mikel Arteta against master Pep Guardiola.
Arteta, 43, served as Guardiola’s City assistant for three years before becoming Gunners boss in 2019.
The pair won several trophies together, including a League Cup at Arsenal‘s expense in 2018.
Guardiola continued to win plenty of trophies following Arteta’s Etihad exit, even pipping his former No2 to the title in 2023 and 2024.
But the gap has narrowed in recent years, with Arsenal finally finishing above City last season, albeit still below Liverpool, and currently leading them by six points in this term’s title race.
Arteta managed to claim a big early win over Guardiola in his managerial career, beating him 2-0 in the 2020 FA Cup semi-finals behind closed doors after deploying a back-three formation.
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Arsenal went on to win that season’s FA Cup, Arteta’s first silverware as a boss.
But that semi-final triumph would be his only win over Guardiola in his first nine attempts, with Arsenal losing all eight of the others.
These defeats included a 5-0 hammering at the Etihad in August 2021, as well as a 4-1 Eastlands demolition in April 2023 as Arsenal’s title dream that season was crushed.
Amazingly, that was the last time that Guardiola beat Arteta – with the latter arguably now having the upper hand.
The two bosses have met six times since then, with Arsenal winning three of them and the other three draws.
The run began with the Gunners winning 5-2 in the 2023 Community Shield.
And while many dismiss that match as a glorified friendly, it proved to be a big step for Arteta’s side.
They subsequently beat City 1-0 in the Premier League two months later, before earning a 0-0 draw at the Etihad later that season.
John Stones scored a 98th minute equaliser for 2-2 in their September 2024 meeting, with Arsenal having had to play the entire second half with 10 men following Lenadro Trossard’s second yellow card for kicking the ball away.
Arsenal fans were treated to a match they will never forget in February last year, as their side trounced an out-of-sorts City side 5-1 at the Emirates.
Earlier this season, the two sides drew 1-1 in North London, with Gabriel Martinelli scoring a 93rd minute leveller to cancel out Erling Haaland‘s first-half effort.
This result saw Arteta become the first manager to ever go five consecutive league matches without losing to Guardiola.
The Spaniard felt that his side had “completely dominated” City – with the Sky Blues recording just 32.8 per cent possession – the lowest tally of Guardiola’s top-flight managerial career.
At the time, Arteta said: “It’s easy to say that [we lacked ambition], but we started the game very well and completely dominated.
“City scored a goal and then did nothing. Everybody tries to do best to get a result, that’s fine.
“But we controlled the game and dominated and the second-half was the same.
“I’m extremely proud of my players and team, but very disappointed with the result. The pride I feel is that we dominated the game.”
Having not won a major trophy since that Covid-era FA Cup in August 2020, the Community Shield notwithstanding, Arteta will be hoping that a League Cup success next month could open the floodgates, while further rubber-stamping the end of the Guardiola-era at City.
But time will tell whether the Arteta vs Guardiola rivalry will have time for another major twist, with next month’s showpiece a major test.
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